Latest news with #lore
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Freddie Prinze Jr. Talks Returning for Another Deadly ‘Summer,' Good Hollywood Marriages and His Famous Father's Defunct Biopic
Freddie Prinze Jr. has a favorite piece of lore from his childhood. In the late '70s, only a few years after the untimely death of his famous father, Prinze went with his mother to Universal Studios. The back-lot tour was delightfully chock-a-block with actors playing the company's iconic monsters. More from Variety Box Office: 'Superman' Still on Top as 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Hooks $5.8 Million Opening Day Ahead of 'Eddington' and 'Smurfs' Box Office: 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Scares Up $2.2 Million in Thursday Previews, A24's 'Eddington' Earns $625K 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Author Was 'Horrified' by the Movie's 'Sensationalized Violence' After Her Teenage Daughter's Murder 'Wolf Man, Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon,' Prinze remembers. While other kids hid behind their parents, screaming, Prinze was starstruck. 'I would ask for hugs,' he says. 'I hugged Frankenstein.' In time, Prinze would spin his boyhood love of monsters into a Hollywood career as a '90s heartthrob. His Noxzema smile and chiseled jawline made him the object of desire for millions of rising millennials in the Ugly Duckling rom-com 'She's All That.' He's also synonymous with beloved horror franchise 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' a movie that cemented him — and co-stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar (to whom he's now married) — as pop culture icons. Prinze Jr. and Gellar ruled as a power couple, but his proceeding decades in show business were full of pivots. While Gellar's fame from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' kept her busy in TV (and allowed her to amass 4.8 million Instagram followers), he dabbled in recurring roles on action shows, voice-over work in the animated 'Star Wars' world and, most unexpectedly, two stints in the writers' room at WWE. Prinze probably won't get any hugs from the villain in this month's movie reboot of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' whose faceless fisherman fond of gutting victims with a hook returns to terrorize a new generation of coeds. Prinze and Hewitt reprise their roles as Ray and Julie, young lovers who survived killing sprees in films from 1997 and 1998. Variety caught up with Prinze via Zoom, conferencing from his Los Angeles home. Clad in a burnout T-shirt, the actor proved every bit the relaxed Southern California dad he's become. Peppering the conversation with 'Bros' and 'mans,' he shares his formula for private life as a public figure, the one Hollywood dream that's evaded him and the cost of authenticity in a ruthless business. Time hasn't been good to Ray. That was attractive to me — I've never gotten the opportunity to play that before. Ray is a guy who never spent a dollar he didn't work really hard to make. He's in denial. He's not the tough guy he used to be. Julie has used her trauma to help build her career and move her life forward. We run in different circles. I hadn't seen her since we wrapped the second movie in '98, but we care a lot about these characters, and it was all still there. After we finished that first scene, we had a chance to say, 'Oh, you have kids. And you have kids.' Honestly, I think the first scene we share in this movie, where Ray and Julie con- front the reality of their relationship, is the best work we've done of all three. I'm really proud of it. Our director, Jenn Robinson, three-dimensionalized these characters. I'd love to direct a horror film. They were my favorite movies since I was a little kid. I always got off on scaring my mom or friends. At lights-out time, when I was 3, I used to go down the hall before bed into every dark room and growl. My mom asked what I was doing, and I said, 'I'm try- ing to scare them before they scare me.' I don't know how to answer that accurately. This will sound stupid, but when I was 14 years old, I saw an interview with Elvis. He was asked a political question and said, 'Look, man, I'm just an entertainer.' I try to live as private a life as a public figure can live. I offer dignity to everyone, and the opportunity to earn respect. That includes your celebrities. I find people want affirmation more than information, and that's fine. I don't offer up advice. There are some young people that are old souls, and there's some old people that have young hearts. I'm almost 50. I didn't know that my contemporaries are still partying until you said it. I don't keep up. I'm not on social except for this podcast I do. I just love my kids. My daughter [Charlotte] is away for the summer, and I hate it. I like hanging out with my son [Rocky] — he's really funny. I love my wife, man. I married her for a reason. Marriage is hard no matter what business you're in. What works for us might not work for everyone else. We work at it. I'm not perfect. She's not perfect. We piss each other off, but we respect one another. We were friends first. Maybe that's the secret? It wasn't just 'Oh, she's hot, he's hot — let's hook up.' But I know people who've done it the other way, and their relationships are just as strong as mine. It's in good hands; if a studio starts micro- managing and things like that, then who knows. So far, so good. I read the pilot and I thought it was awesome. I'm not the demographic, [but] I can easily recognize the impact it's had globally. We've been to Bali and seen a taxi driver with a 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' T-shirt on. She hasn't asked, and I haven't offered. If they needed me, of course. But I think they got it under control. Exactly. To finally be someone under the mask. I was approached by someone I respect who saw a clip of my dad while they were doomscrolling online. It was a cool take, centered around his stand-up comedy. It seemed effortless. We got him in touch with some of my dad's old comrades, these legends like Pam Grier and Paul Williams. People who really knew him. My dad and Pam Grier were lovers — that's not a secret — so I was grateful for her time. The script didn't translate to that original pitch, so it disappeared into the ether. If the right idea came along, we'd say yes as a family. No, thankfully, although I'd expect that note from some of the executives that exist these days. Once all the studios were sold and became publicly traded companies, the leadership changed. The philosophies are night and day from when I was coming up. I really wish they wouldn't do this. I think it's just too inside. I was taught by old-school people, and the goal of the writers' room is to help get the talent to succeed. That's the job. If a monologue or the scene sucks, that's on the writer. If it's great, then the talent got that over. You take the blame but not the credit. If the cookie is delicious, let me enjoy it. I don't want to see how it's made. I'm not wishing for failure, but it's not as much fun when you know everything about the magic tricks. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Destiny 2's New Villains May Have Killed JFK With Graviton Lance
Destiny 2 Well, that's not a headline I expected to write today. With a week to go until the launch of Destiny 2's Edge of Fate expansion, Collector's Editions for the game are starting to go out. As is tradition, Bungie threw in a bunch of weird lore stuff that has puzzles that need solving, but often some fun stories as well. This one is…something. As pointed out to me by Destiny conspiracy theorist/Nine truther Skarrow, there are some indications in here that it's possible that The Nine killed JFK. Or at least shaped events that led to the killing of JFK. Yeah, it's weird, but after looking into this, I am a believer. This is based on two pages from the Collector's Edition specifically, logs from The Department of External Observation in Chicago where new character Lodi appears to have worked before being pulled through time and space, presumably by The Nine. (I'm calling The Nine villains here because some members almost certainly will be, but others may not, as Bungie said all have unique goals and personalities). Here are the relevant sections: 'It is my personal assessment that, at this time, ████████████████████████ stability required ████████████████████████ without causing enough disturbance to have been noted as part of the event. At the very least we would expect to see █████████████████████████, which remains at detectable levels for at least three years post-failure, but our readings at Dealey Plaza indicate nothing out of the ordinary.' 'After extensive review of the materials recovered from the ████████ Incident, I can find no conclusive link between the weaponry and energy sources present at the Incident, and the evidence from the scene of President Kennedy's assassination.' Texas Governor John Connally adjusts his tie (foreground) as US President John F Kennedy (left) & ... More First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (in pink) settled in rear seats, prepared for motorcade into city from airport, Nov. 22. After a few speaking stops, the President was assassinated in the same car. So, it was investigated, but they didn't do it, right? Well… 'As █████████ testifies, both imaging and physical examination of the brain revealed extensive disruption of the tissue. While this is expected of a gunshot wound, closer examination by our Department revealed subtle patterns in the disruption. █████████ and █████████ concur that the pattern is indicative of tissue being pulled towards the projectile as it passed through the skull, before it was pushed outward again. This is unusual behavior.' The other thing to catch in here is that the 'weaponry' appears to have a 'pattern [that is] indicative of tissue being pulled toward the projectile as it passed through the skull before it was pushed outward again.' Lodi Does that remind you of any specific Destiny weapon? Perhaps a gun that people know almost nothing about that was randomly found in Old Chicago, the location of this agency? Here's some Graviton Lance lore: "So wait, that thing you found does… what?" "It fires black holes." "No it doesn't." "Oh yeah. It does. Actual, tiny, bullet-sized black holes." "Did you tell the others?" "Only that I found some weird gun in some overgrown tunnel back on Old Chicago.' Skarrow muses that perhaps it was Lodi, influenced by The Nine, who killed JFK, but I'm not sure there's evidence of that. But I mean this entire section seems to indicate that some sort of outside force, possibly one time traveling, either influenced or actually carried out the assassination. What. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘DOOM: The Dark Ages' Is The Most Fun I've Had With A First-Person Shooter In Years
DOOM: The Dark Ages Credit: Id Software Holy hell, DOOM: The Dark Ages is nightmarish good fun. It's a very different beast from previous entries in the long-running series, but it just might be the most fun I've ever had playing a DOOM game. It's certainly the most fun I've had in a single-player first-person shooter in a very, very long time. I'm very picky when it comes to shooters, but this one is pure fun. I put it up there with 2016's DOOM or Titanfall 2's excellent campaign (which also came out in 2016). The game is just wildly entertaining. There's a lot of story here, as you fight swathes of space demons across multiple planets. I've never played a DOOM title with this much narrative meat. It's a galaxy-spanning war for survival that takes you between mission after mission, each with its own flare or gimmick. This is all about lore-building, painting in the background of the DOOM universe. If you're not interested in the story, you can just ignore it, but there's a lot here for fans who want more. Every new stage is a rush. At times, you're blasting your way through a pretty standard level, hunting down keys to open up new pathways, killing everything that stands in your way. Other stages are much more open-world, with multiple objectives to knock out in whatever order, and lots of optional areas to explore. Not all of these are just you against the demons. In some, you'll hop on the back of a dragon and assault enemy outposts from the air, or strap into a skyscraper-tall mech and blast mega-demons to smithereens. These feel almost like arcade-style missions. There is endless variety and tons of secrets to find – some a lot harder to track down than others. Enemies get tougher and more varied as you progress. Imps, Hell Knights and Cacodemons abound, but also mounted enemies whose riders have to be taken out before you can kill the mount. Flying enemies zip around above, some hurling ghostly skulls at you, others wielding annoyingly long whips. Phalanxes of shielded enemies can slow you down, but just heat a single shield with gunfire and smash it with your shield toss and the blast will take out the whole line. Some demons fire hellish blasts at you while others leap in with hard-hitting melee attacks. There are often countless scores of enemies in any given fight, far more than we've seen in past titles, and you'll navigate AOE blasts, bombs on timers, incoming axes and all manner of other dangers. It's frenetic and wonderfully chaotic, but this tanked-out Doom Slayer is more than up for the job. Doom: The Dark Ages Credit: Id Software The arsenal is, of course, the main attraction here. It's quite different than it has been in the past, now that the Doom Slayer is equipped with his trusty razor shield. The shield is as much an offensive weapon as anything. Locking onto an enemy let's you leap forward to land a crushing blow, giving you the ability to really fly across the map. You can also hurl it at enemies (or use it to navigate certain points on the map, either by using it as a kind of grapple or to unlock gates). Often, you'll use the shield to parry any green-colored hellspawn blasts that enemies hurl at you, either from a distance or in melee. This sends the blast back at demons in devastating counter-attacks. I rarely use the shield to block, but it's essential to parry. On top of the Slayer's Shield, you have various melee options including an incredibly fun flail, though your melee is limited to some degree by its use of limited ammunition. (The Chainsaw is, regrettably, not one of these). You can't spam melee attacks, basically, though as with every other weapon there's typically an abundance of ammo scattered about each stage, and melee attacks spawn ammo drops as well. Enemy takedowns spawn health, and certain enemies will drop both shields and health when you take them out with a shield throw. You can also leap from high points into a mob and send a shockwave out that takes out scores of baddies all at once. It's basically fall damage in reverse. The guns are universally badass this time around. Many of them have more than one form, allowing you to switch between two different modes. One automatic rifle can transform into a single-shot rail gun that hits incredibly hard. The standard shotgun can transform into a close-range double barrel variant. Ammo remains the same for both variants, effectively doubling the gun-pool without doubling ammo types. One rifle shoots bone-shards in a wide spread, handy for weakening mobs. Another sends out a powerful chain-whip that you can charge up for powerful mid-range blasts at stronger foes. All of these, including the shield and melee weapons, can be upgraded for gold or rubies at shrines across each level. Defeating bosses gives you various upgrades to max shields, health and ammo as well. Doom: The Dark Ages Credit: Id Software One thing this game does very well is pace out its upgrades. You'll find new weapons as you progress, and then upgrade them along whatever upgrade path you choose, adding fire damage or the ability to shock enemies to various weapons. All of these weapons remain viable throughout, and while you're never limited on which weapon can take out which enemy, I found myself switching between guns constantly just because each one is so much fun to use. Lob a few grenades with your grenade launcher, switch to the pulse rifle and weaken some shield-bearers, toss the shield into the mix and take out a mob all at once, then leap forward with the shield attack and lay out a tougher enemy with a few well-timed flail hits, then duck out of the fight and turn, lighting up some explosive containers, swing around the map and grab some health and then dive back in for more, parrying some green missiles back into a mini-boss. It's a wonderfully entertaining gameplay loop that's both satisfying and addictive. DOOM: The Dark Ages moves a bit slower than past titles with its lack of double-jump or air-dash, but it's in no way slow. Frankly, I'm enjoying it much more than Eternal and even more than 2016's excellent DOOM reboot. The Doom Slayer moves at a thudding, deliberate pace but he's still quick, and the ability to leap across the battlefield with your shield attack makes him highly mobile. While the shield might lead some players to think this is a more defensive game, the reality is it's still incredibly aggressive. You'll just need to use your parries to take down harder enemies. Depending on your difficulty setting, the parry window can be either very generous or a lot harder to time, though this is no Sekiro even on its hardest difficulty. There are a bunch of accessibility options as well, and you can basically fine-tune the gameplay to fit your playstyle and experience. There's endless replay value given just how much fun the combat is, and how many secrets I've left undiscovered. Add to all of this yet another banger of a heavy-metal soundtrack, stunning graphics that not only provide stunning vistas and massive scale, but hordes of enemies onscreen at once, and this is quite simply one of the best shooters in years, exceeding all of my expectations. It's also unabashedly single-player, with no tacked on MP or live-service elements (though it's so much fun, I actually wouldn't mind a multiplayer mode). 2025 has been a very good year for video games so far, and DOOM: The Dark Ages is yet another must-play title to add to your list. The game releases on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on May 15th and will be available as a day-one Game Pass title. I can't recommend it highly enough.
